Shakespeare Academy - The Greatest Nobleman of All
by Triskell
Summary: Think you know Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"? Then have a look at this! ;D (implied SLASH)


The Shakespeare Academy Series consists of stand-alone pieces.  
  
Note: I have the utmost admiration for Shakespeare and I consider him to be one of the greatest poets and playwrights ever. I don't intend to make fun of him, but I guess you'll find that this story doesn't take itself overly serious at times… Enjoy! And I don't own any of the characters from Star Wars. May Great George forgive my meddling ;D.

**SHAKESPEARE ACADEMY  
THE GREATEST NOBLEMAN OF ALL**  
© Triskell, 2000

  
Play in 3 Acts  
  
Characters:  
  
Qui-Gon, the Caesar  
Anthony Kenobi, his former student   
Darth Brutus, Qui-Gon's dearest friend  
Palpatinus, the most honourable council member  
Mace Windus, council member  
Gaius Yoda, ancient seer  
Annius Skywalker, aid to Gaius Yoda  
  
Amidala, the narrator  
  
  
**ACT I**  
  
Amidala steps on the stage, wearing an elaborate costume of violet silks:  
"Righteous honour bound the galaxy in peace's ties  
While our great Caesar ruled those many years  
And his end will mark a gruesome change with tears  
As honour's stained and loving friendship dies."  
  
  
SCENE I  
  
At Palpatinus' villa in the outskirts of Coruscant. Palpatinus stands at the window, looking out over the wide grey skyline of the gigantic city. His eyes are cold, his lips curve in a harsh smile. Mace Windus and Darth Brutus enter the room. Palpatinus turns around, opens his arms and welcomes them warmly.  
  
Palpatinus:   
"My friends, what honour to see you in my humble abode!"  
  
Mace Windus:   
"You are so modest, oh Palpatinus, richest man of Coruscant."  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Of the galaxy, you mean, my friend…" (He grins evilly.)  
  
Darth Brutus:   
"Noble Palpatinus, I thank you for your invitation."  
  
Mace Windus:   
"What reason did you have for calling us to you, on this beautiful day?"  
  
Palpatinus sighs, shakes his head:   
"I fear the galaxy's threatened by one almighty foe…"  
  
Darth Brutus, his eyes wide:   
"The Critics are planning to attack!?"   
  
Mace Windus:   
"Oh no, young Brutus, that cannot be, we destroyed them in 1977 BC!"  
  
Palpatinus casts a sideways glance at them, then shakes his head, his features a mask of carefully tempered pain:   
"No, my friends, I fear the Critics are naught compared to the foe I talk about. I wish I need not put you through this, yet I cannot let the galaxy suffer in the wake of terrible destruction…"  
  
Mace Windus:   
"Tell us, oh noble Palpatinus, let us hear the name of the man who threatens the galaxy!"  
  
Palpatinus keeps his eyes on Brutus' features when he replies:   
"I fear that our right noble, dearest Caesar is the one…"  
  
Darth Brutus gasps, staring in utmost shock and disbelief at Palpatinus.  
  
Mace Windus:   
"I cannot believe it! Think, good Palpatinus, before you so accuse our friend, our leader, our…" (Palpatinus throws him an icy glance and he stops.)  
  
Darth Brutus, his red and black face flushed even redder with anger:   
"I will leave this instant and tell my dearest friend, our noble Caesar of your disloyalty, your…"  
  
Palpatinus' eyes fill with tears, he catches Brutus' sleeve:   
"Friend, I beg you, let me tell you of my reasons…I…friends - I have proof of what I say! I suspected our most noble Caesar of a grave sin against the Code of Peace - and I, I cannot tell you how much it pains me to say this, have found my worst suspicions to be well-founded in the changes… his conduct, and talk over the past months."  
  
Mace Windus:   
"Tell us, oh Palpatinus! What is it that you believe he's done?"  
  
Palpatinus still holds Brutus' sleeve, he's crying now:   
"T'is so heartbreaking…but I will tell you, my friends, for you have a right to know… The Code of Peace, that our dearest Caesar himself has set up and that was accepted unanimously by the Council of our elders, this Code forbids pride, aggression and…passion."  
  
Darth Brutus blushes a deep pink.  
  
Palpatinus wipes the tears from his eyes before continuing:   
"I see, my young friend, how hard this will be on you…but I have observed, aye, with my own eyes have I seen how close our noblest Caesar and his former student, the honourable Anthony Kenobi are…I have cause, very good cause indeed, to fear they have overstepped the boundaries of reason and… propriety."  
  
The three of them suddenly seem like stone statues, the lights dim around them and a little girl carries a huge board marked "Musical Interlude" across the stage:  
  
Amidala stumbles on the stage, her foot having caught in the hem of her violet silk dress. She smiles sweetly at the audience, then claps her hands. A tune rises from nowhere, she sways to the music and begins to sing…  
  
"There's no love – like your love  
And no other – could give more love  
There's nowhere – unless you're there  
All the time – all the way  
Oh – you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
I can't help it – there's nothin' I want more  
I would fight for you – I'd lie for you  
Walk the wire for you – yeah I'd die for you  
You know it's true  
Everything I do – I do it for you" (1)  
  
She bows, still smiling, lifts the hem of her dress and glides majestically off-stage. Palpatinus watches the exit, his face still contorted in a grimace of disinterested humility and affection for his friends. The lights brighten and illuminate them again.  
  
Darth Brutus, still violently blushing:   
"I cannot believe that this is true!"  
  
Mace Windus:   
"Oh wise Palpatinus, now that you speak of it, I must, though I wish I need not, see that you are right! Our most honourable Caesar has indeed been strangely familiar with the noble Kenobi…"  
  
Darth Brutus catches his breath, his eyes glassy, as if something had taken possession of his mind, then he shakes his head as he says slowly:   
"I bend to your noble mind and greater wisdom, my honoured friend. I see the truth of what you've told me in every word, in every touch that passes between my Caesar and the noble Anthony."  
  
Mace Windus looks sheepishly at Palpatinus, then bows, asking in a small voice:   
"T'is cannot be all that you suspect him of, my dearest friend. T'would be a scandal indeed, but no danger to the galaxy…"  
  
Palpatinus seems irritated for a moment, then he answers in a mild tone:   
"You are so right, noble Windus - t'is not only impropriety and untamed passion that I know him to be guilty of, but also pride and frightening bouts of aggression when certain…issues were brought up."  
  
Windus stares into Palpatinus' eyes, then nods slowly and so does Darth Brutus:   
"We'll follow you in your quest, oh noble Palpatinus."  
  
The two men bow deeply, then leave the room. Palpatinus turns back to the window. He smiles.  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Go, my friends - but run from me you cannot. For I have the power of the Dark, your fearful little minds are mine, and so is triumph…"  
  
  
SCENE II  
  
Amidala steps on the stage, smiling benevolently while the scene is redecorated to show a bustling marketplace. Huge concrete skyscrapers tower over the small stalls, beggars sit in the dirt and grime. Amidala walks along the street, till she meets up with a tiny, bent-over figure led by a small boy. The boy looks up and smiles, his blue eyes sparkling.  
  
Annius Skywalker:   
"My love, my Amidala! Were angels women you would be one! Your eyes are like the sky over a clean planet in spring, your skin is like…"  
  
The figure grunts, and then begins to speak haltingly, all the while waving small green arms and a knobbly stick in front of Amidala's eyes.  
  
Gaius Yoda:   
"Enough, this is! Hold us up, the girl does! See her later, you can! Meet her when I need you not, you may."  
  
The boy nods, winks at Amidala and leads the figure on. She shrugs, then goes on, trying hard to jump gaily without falling over the hem of her long violet silk dress.  
  
  
SCENE III  
  
At Qui-Gon's palace. Anthony sits in front of an open fireplace in a dressing gown decorated with elaborate embroidery. He is reading aloud from a book.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds   
Admit impediments. Love is not love  
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove.  
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,  
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;  
It is the star to every wandering bark,  
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.  
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks  
Within his bending sickle's compass come;  
  
(He thoughtfully licks his lips…)  
  
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,  
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.  
If this be error and upon me prov'd,  
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd." (2)  
  
Anthony sighs, pressing the book to his heart. Qui-Gon enters, sees him and grins.  
  
Qui-Gon:   
"You've been reading that poem again, love. Have I not told you that reality is far more beautiful than any written word?"  
  
Anthony faces him, blushing slightly:   
"I'm only learning to live in the moment, as you instructed me. I relived the experience of last night as I read and enjoyed the melodious flow of the sweet words…"  
  
Qui-Gon:   
"You should write poetry yourself, I think. Your taste is exquisite - one need just look at your having chosen me…"  
  
Anthony grins mischievously and rises to snuggle into Qui-Gon's embrace. They kiss deeply, stumble on the pillows in front of the fire and…a knock is heard on the front door. Moments later - Anthony just manages to close his dressing gown and slide a little away from the other man - a bent-over figure shuffles in, accompanied by a small boy, who bows in front of them.  
  
Qui-Gon, a little breathless:   
"I am deeply honoured, by your visit, oh wise one."  
  
Anthony smiles, bowing his head.  
  
Annius Skywalker:   
"My Master wishes to speak to you alone, oh great Caesar."  
  
Qui-Gon:   
"My dear friend, I have no secrets from Anthony, as you well know in your wisdom."  
  
Gaius Yoda: br "Wished for this, you have. Spare the boy the pain, I wanted."  
  
Qui-Gon frowns, Anthony stares wide-eyed at the creature standing only a metre away from him. Annius has stepped back and hangs his head.  
  
Gaius Yoda:   
"Come to warn you, I have. Approaching, the Ides are."  
  
Anthony looks at Qui-Gon, his eyes a giant question mark. Qui-Gon shrugs his shoulders.  
br Gaius Yoda sighs:   
"The Ides of March, I mean. Roman history, never learnt you have. Middle of March, the Ides are. Bringing your destiny, they are. Die, you will. Attend the Council Meeting tomorrow, you must not."  
  
Anthony pales, Qui-Gon takes hold of his hand. Gaius Yoda raises his hand, grumbling, and Annius runs to his side. They walk out of the room slowly.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"You heard him. I won't have you go to the Council tomorrow."  
br Qui-Gon:   
"It's of the utmost importance. Palpatinus has come up with accusations I must answer to - my honour demands it."  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"It's about us, isn't it? Why can't you just tell them we're together. They never complained when Darth Brutus lived with that moisture farmer."  
  
Qui-Gon:   
"That was because he wasn't in a position of power, as I am. Palpatinus seeks to overthrow my rule and he will stop at nothing…"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"He'd even murder you! I won't let you go to the Council session tomorrow."   
  
Qui-Gon:  
"I will go, if I have to use the Force to quiet you, I'd do it! This session is too important for the future of the galaxy. I must face my foes. I cannot let them win - not once. I am the Caesar!"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"If you insist on going, I'll be at your side."  
  
Qui-Gon:   
"No! Love, this is what they're all waiting for! You must keep away. I'll take care! I'm the best fighter in the galaxy…"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"You should beware of your pride!"  
  
Qui-Gon grins, pulling Anthony towards him, kissing him. While they make out, Amidala appears on the stage. She sees them, claps her hands and the curtain falls.   
  
  
**ACT II**  
  
  
SCENE I  
  
At the grand place in front of the Jedi Temple, that was built in the style of a Naboo Palace. A broad expanse of steps leads up to the massive oak doors that are still closed as it's still early morning.  
  
Due to the incredible accusations, a curious crowd has already gathered, and no one sees the three dark figures that glide towards the columns at the top of the steps.   
  
Gaius Yoda stumbles about with flailing arms behind the people. He croaks something unintelligible…in a dark corner a few metres away, Annius sits on Amidala's lap. She's rocking him gently, and they are grinning merrily over some joke.  
  
Suddenly the crowds part to let the tall, imposing figure of the Caesar through as he strides solitary towards the building. A hooded, cloaked shadow follows farther behind, mingling with the people and drowning in their numbers.  
  
Qui-Gon reaches the steps, turns round, smiling and waves to the crowds. He walks up the steps slowly, when the three hooded figures break from their hiding place behind the columns, flashing miniature lightsabres whose blades glow a dull red.   
  
Palpatinus:   
"Death to the traitor!"   
  
He stabs Qui-Gon in the side, the other man turns, drawing his dagger - a greenish laser blade clashes with an attacker's arm, the other assassin drives his weapon in deep near Qui-Gon's heart. The crowds hush, and a hoarse "No!" rising from among them.  
  
The three hooded men continue to stab Qui-Gon till he falls at their feet, soaked in his own blood. He rasps, blood trickling from his mouth. One of the assassins kneels down beside him and pushes back his hood.  
  
Qui-Gon:   
"Et tu, Darth…"  
  
The young man raises his hand, the bloodied red blade flashing once, then stabs Qui-Gon right in the heart.  
  
This time, the "No!" is clearly audible in the quiet that has fallen across the place. Anthony Kenobi breaks free of the crowds and races up the steps, pushing Darth Brutus away roughly and throwing himself over his lover's lifeless body.  
  
Palpatinus raises his arms, his voice booming out over the crowds, magnified tenfold:  
"Friends, hear me! You may think us traitors, but we are none! It was with aching hearts that we decided on this step! It was to save you from the man our once so noble friend, the greatest Caesar, had become. For he honoured neither the Code of Peace (gasps from the masses) nor the principles of life we fought the Critics for those many years ago."  
  
Mace Windus:   
"Indeed, my friends he has committed dreadful crimes and though we grieve that we did have to end his life, t'was a right and just deed to be done!"  
  
Darth Brutus:   
"You know, my friends, how dear the great Caesar was to me, but no one could have known better, how wrong his life had recently turned out and how dangerous his power was to all of you. It pains me hard to tell you so, but death came to a traitor, who meant to destroy the peace of all the galaxy!"  
  
The crowds suddenly begin to cheer the three men, hailing them as their saviours, as the truest men and greatest heroes of the galaxy.  
  
Anthony Kenobi, his voice broken and tears shimmering in his grey-blue eyes intones, barely above a whisper:   
"Palpatinus! Mace Windus and Darth Brutus! I ask you as the honourable men you are to let me speak in honour of the man…Caesar once was!"  
  
Palpatinus looks at him warily, but Darth Brutus nods his head vigorously:   
"Indeed, you have our leave to speak to the crowds. They saw that what we did was right, and so have you, I am sure, so let us now honour the Qui-Gon that we knew!"  
  
Mace Windus nods his head slowly, moving back into the shadows. Darth Brutus follows him, dragging along Palpatinus, whose discomfort is palpable.  
  
Anthony Kenobi, his eyes still bright with tears, and barely controlled rage, steps forward, lifting his arms and calling out to the crowds:   
"People of Coruscant! Hear me speak!"  
  
People don't heed him, but he calls again, this time louder, letting his feelings colour his words.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"Honour a grieved man's wish to speak a few words about his dearest friend! You all knew Qui-Gon as a good and noble man, yet now you curse him from the bottom of your heart - alas, I fear you wrong the good he's done in seeing only that which last you heard of him. Let me but tell you what I felt for him! He was my truest friend, my longest and most trusted mate. Qui-Gon has never done me wrong in all the years I knew him, but I am sure the cause that led to this, his death, was well worth such a punishment."  
  
Anthony stops, brushing the remnants of his tears away, with a visible effort to control himself. Gaius Yoda has climbed on top of a barrel and watches him attentively, his head nodding slightly in agreement.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"You all must know a reason for the hate you feel for him, but all I feel is love. I cannot be so blinded as to think you never heard the rumours - they are true! We shared our hearts as we did share our lives and never have I known a deeper, stronger, purer love than his. Qui-Gon was all my universe, my sunlight, moon and stars, he warmed my nights and brightened up my days! I cannot make you feel the way I do, nor can I ever make you understand the pain that threatens now to pull me down. I am but a lonely man, mourning for his lover."  
  
People begin to whisper to each other, Gaius Yoda taps his knobbly stick on the barrel and shouts:   
"Know how you feel, I do! Honourable and sincere, such love is! Honourable and sincere!"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"I thank you, wise one for your understanding. It is a balm to my deep wound that bleeds as if the fearsome blades that ended Qui-Gon's life were tearing at my flesh with every word I say."  
  
The mumbling of the crowds grows louder, here and there a few words drift over the steady noise:   
"Traitors!" "He's right!" "…killed him!"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"Good people, hear me out! I know that you will never feel the way I do, but I do pray you to remember our dear Qui-Gon as being all a man should be - a warm, loving and honourable soul, forever seeking to give help to everyone in need! I know that you were told he wronged the Code of Peace, I do not know of this! But who am I to say such things? I spent my life with him, I knew his heart, but how could I have known his faults and failings?"  
  
Citizen:   
"You must have known them, better than another! Tell us, did he wrong the Code?"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"Dear friend! The Qui-Gon that I knew was reasonably proud of all he had achieved, yet he did never think himself to high to learn from his mistakes. He cherished nothing more than life and love and all his waking hours did he spend in working for an everlasting peace! The power that you gave him, never has he craved it less than when he felt that he could not prevent your suffering! I cannot name him other than a Caesar, the greatest man this galaxy has known!"  
  
Gaius Yoda waves his stick above his head, crying out at the top of his voice:   
"Annius! Here, you come! Avenge Qui-Gon, we must! Bring peace to the galaxy, you shall! Annius!"  
  
The crowd takes up Yoda's words and follows him as he shuffles, led by Annius, towards the houses of the three murderers. Anthony stays back, he slumps down beside Qui-Gon's lifeless form and takes his lover's green blade. He cuts his hand and lays it on the bloody stain above the other man's heart.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"I swear I'll have their lives for yours, my love. They will no longer stand between the galaxy and long-sought peace. For every wound they will have three and I will make them pay for their false friendship with their blood."  
  
Anthony puts the blade into his tunic, wrapping Qui-Gon's stained and torn cloak around him and lifting him with the help of the Force to take him home. The place is deserted and his footsteps echo along the vast expanse in front of the Jedi Temple.  
  
  
SCENE II  
  
In Palpatinus' house. The servant brings in a huge trunk and two suitcases, which he puts beside Palpatinus, who stands frowning at the window.  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Is my spaceship ready to depart, you scum?"  
  
Servant:   
"Yes, my Master. Your friends have arrived…"  
  
The servant scurries away, when Palpatinus turns round and looks at him. His eyes are deadly. Darth Brutus and Mace Windus come in. They each carry a trunk on their backs. They look tired, as if they had run a long way.  
  
Mace Windus:   
"They call us traitors, friend and they have sworn to kill us all!"  
  
Darth Brutus:   
"We murdered him, did we not?"  
  
Palpatinus:   
"If you had not let this foolish boy speak poison words to serpent hearts we would have had no problems at all. We could have ruled the galaxy, you idiot!"  
  
Darth Brutus:   
"So we killed an innocent!"  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Wrong! We stabbed him, but you had the last cut, you plunged your blade into his heart!"  
  
Mace Windus:   
"Can you hear them, they are coming to the house. Make haste! We must depart!"  
  
Darth Brutus:   
"I cannot live with this dishonour, with his death. He was my friend!"  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Jump out of the window and forget to Force levitate for all I care. Windus, come with me. Brutus, the ship's leaving in five minutes."  
  
Palpatinus and Windus leave with their luggage, Brutus stays, looking out of the window. He dimly hears the sound of the spaceship leaving, but he seems to have lost all interest. He just stares ahead, as if he were not really there. - A hoarse cry, Anthony races in the room, Qui-Gon's green blade in his fist.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"MURDERER! Prepare to face your death!"  
  
Darth Brutus turns around, no emotion on his features:   
"I will fight you, noble Anthony. But know that I do wish I had not…"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"Say no more, for you must die!"  
  
Anthony lunges himself at Brutus, who steps back, leaning against the windowsill. He does not fight the other man as he pulls the red blade, still smeared with Qui-Gon's blood from Brutus' cloak.   
  
Anthony Kenobi whispers:   
"This is for you, love."   
  
He runs Brutus through with the same blade that killed Qui-Gon, watching as the body slumps at his feet. His voice is cold when Gaius Yoda taps him on the shoulder with his stick.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"He had to die."  
  
Gaius Yoda:   
"Give in to hate, you must not. Taught you well, Qui-Gon has. Do him credit, you do not!"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"I will…meditate. Tomorrow I shall be calm. Is the shuttle ready?"  
  
Gaius Yoda:   
"Ready, it is. Go with you, Annius will. Struck with the narrator, the boy is. Say she is divine he does. Fool himself, he does. Be a Sith, he will be. No future, they have."  
  
Anthony looks at Yoda questioningly. The ancient seer shrugs his shoulders.   
  
Gaius Yoda:   
"Understand this, you need not. Always in motion, the future is."  
  
  
**ACT III**  
  
  
SCENE I  
  
On Yavin 4, a jungle moon. Palpatinus and Mace Windus have made camp in the ruins of an ancient temple. They sleep while their servants stand guard. Suddenly, the roar of engines can be heard.   
  
Palpatinus:   
"They have arrived, friend. Anthony is on the hunt. We must fight him."  
  
Mace Windus:   
"I do not wish to fight! I cannot fight! I was never taught how to…"  
  
Palpatinus grunts, throwing a gleaming silver handle to him:   
"The newest development of weapons' technology - lightsabres. They are longer than our dagger-blades, and therefore we need not come as close to our foe."  
  
Mace Windus:   
"We could have used them to finish Qui-Gon! I didn't like to have his blood all over my cloak, it was brand new!"  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Shut up, you idiot, you are a disgrace to the Jedi!"  
  
Mace Windus:   
"The Jedi - and there I thought I was a Sith! Why did you not tell me before?"  
  
Palpatinus looks at him, his eyes dancing with ire, but he controls himself and shrugs his shoulders.  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Get to your positions, men! We'll fight them to the death! For the glory of me, Palpatinus, the Galactic Emperor!"  
  
  
SCENE II  
  
Outside the temple - the shuttle with Anthony and Annius aboard has landed, their men have already taken cover, now the two of them strut down the ramp. Annius hands Anthony his lightsabre and takes out his own.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"I thought Yoda hadn't allowed you a lightsabre."  
  
Annius Skywalker:   
"He doesn't know. Amidala gave it to me, she said I should show Yoda what a hero I am. So that's why I'm going to blow up that temple with all the bad guys in it!"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"I have a bad feeling about this, Annius! You should stay near the shuttle, where it's safe."  
  
Annius Skywalker:   
"That somehow sounds familiar…but this time I won't listen! I'm a hero fighting for the glory of my angel Amidala and I must succeed."  
  
Anthony shrugs his shoulders and motions for his men to attack. They start screaming and rush towards the temple.  
  
  
SCENE III  
  
Anthony, Annius and their men have invaded the temple. Annius slips away, positioning an explosive at the central pillar. No one notices him, so he takes out some coal and begins to draw Amidala's picture on the floor.  
  
Mace Windus fights grimly with his red lightsabre, and manages to break free of his attackers. Then he catches sight of Anthony, whose blood-curdling screams and rapid slashes show unbearable grief, even though no aggression can be felt.  
  
Mace Windus:   
"Like a lion in a cage…and all I feel is pain, no guilt, no anger! He's pure, as was his friend. We killed an innocent!"  
  
Realization dawns as he catches a glimpse of Palpatinus, who emanates the sheer luxury of power and hate. He sighs, placing the lightsabre handle at his heart and igniting the blade. He falls to his knees, his blood flowing on the floor, marring the smooth surface of the dark stones.  
  
Annius Skywalker:   
"Blast, this red flow's washed away Amidala's hair! Sith be damned, now I have to start all over again!"  
  
Anthony makes his way to where Palpatinus is almost getting past Anthony's men. He lets out a feral growl and catches the elder man's attention.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"You have with slanderous tongue and serpent deed betrayed the trust of one good and noble man. For this and for his painful death you shall be punished thousand-fold."  
  
Palpatinus:   
"Stop this pathos, Anthony! You are no more than a mere boy, your life is in my hands! I am your destiny!"  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"Let's see old man, for I know I am the carrier of your sentence - death!"  
  
Palpatinus and Anthony start fighting. Their blades clash in brilliant sparks, the red and blue glow illuminates the old building, creating gloomy shadows on the wall. The other men stop fighting and back off.  
  
Annius Skywalker:   
"How now - they fight! Great, means I'd better get out. Goodbye, my love, know we shall meet again…"  
  
Annius jumps to his feet, blowing a kiss to the half-finished picture of Amidala and runs towards the huge doorway. Passing the two fighting men, he uses the tip of his lightsabre blade to cut into Palpatinus' arm.   
  
Palpatinus:   
"You devil of a child, I curse you by the Sith! You shall be one of us ere your days are done!"  
  
Just in that moment, Anthony slashes downward, cutting Palpatinus' head off his shoulders. He raises his lightsabre in salute to his lover, then powers it down.  
  
Anthony Kenobi:   
"My deed is done, my love, for now I shall wage war no more. In keeping with your cherished way of life I will spend all my future days in working for the government."  
  
The curtain falls and Amidala, the narrator appears. She no longer wears the long, flowing violet silk dress, but jeans and a blue sweater.  
  
Amidala:   
"Behold you now, the end of this our play,   
Let our counsel guide you through the day,  
For those whose faith does never sway  
Will find the best will come their way."  
  
She bows, skipping lightly off the stage. Applause and cheers are heard.  
  
  
THE END.   
  
  
(1) "(Everything I do) I do it for you" copyrighted by Badman ltd. 1999 and sung by Bryan Adams (on the album "The Best of Me", Badman ltd 1999)  
(2) "Sonnet 116" by William Shakespeare to be found in "W. S. - The Sonnets", Reclam, Stuttgart 1994


End file.
